Successive setting of tensions on a multiple winding machine



Jam 20, 1959 s; 1.. ABBOTT SUCCESSIVE SETTING OF TENSIONS ON A MULTIPLEWINDING MACHINE 2 sheefs-sheet 1 Filed Dec. 1, 1953 Jan. 20, 1959 s. ABBOTT 2,869,798

SUCCESSIVE SETTING OF TENSIONS ON A MULTIPLE WINDING MACHINE Filed Dec. 1, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'mmellflpii v United States SUCCESSIVE SETTKNG F TENSIONS UN A. MULTHPLE WINDING MACHENE Samuel L. Abbott, Wilton, N. H., assignor to Abbott Machine (30., Inc., Wilton, N. H.,.a corporation of New Hampshire Application December 1, 1953, Serial No. 395,529

19 Claims. (Cl. 242-45) This invention relates to winding machines and more particularly to mechanism for setting the tension devices that apply tension to the winding yarn.

In many winding operations it is desirable to exercise careful control of the tension, fitting the tension to the particular conditions of winding, such as speed of wind ing, kind, count and quality of the yarn, and the subsequent conditions of use of the wound package. Adjustable tension devices are in common use but are generally subject to certain drawbacks.

Winding is often performed in large lots, for instance upon several machines each having two hundred or more winding units, so that there may be a thousand or so winding units involved in the winding of a given lot of yarn. If an increase or decrease in tension became advisable, then in order to effect the change an operative or operatives would need to make adjustments to perhaps a thousand tension devices. Much yarn would be wound before all these adjustments could be made, or else, if winding were suspended, much valuable production time would be lost.

Moreover, the matter of making a very large number of identical adjustments is a repetitious one, conducive to fatigue and consequent error. Even with careful attention to each individual adjustment, Winding units may be skipped and go unobserved for a considerable time.

In winding small lots of yarn, involving perhaps a single winding machine having one or two hundred winding units, there may not be so many individual adjustments to make for any one change of tension that is decided on, but the winding of small lots often involves frequent change in the particular yarn wound. Change in the yarn wound, as suggested above, is likely to make it desirable to change the tension. Thus, with either large or small lots, it would be desirable to be able to set the ten sion devices of a winding machine easily, quickly and reliably, which the present invention aims to do.

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction that will assure that all of a number of tension devices are uniformly and accurately set.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from this specification and its accompanying drawings in which the invention is explained by description of a preferred example thereof.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary front view of a short length of one side of a traveling spindle Winder, showing parts of two of its winding units;

Pig. 2 shows the left one of the two winding units of Fig. 1, mainly in right side elevation, but with certain parts shown in vertical section;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view, taken on the line 3-4: of Fig. 2 with parts broken away; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the con nections which apply pressure to the movable tension disk of a winding unit, this view being taken from the rear of one of the winding units of Fig. l.

The invention is best applied to a winding machine in 2,8b9,798 Patented Jan. 20, 1959 ice which there is relative movement between the winding units and the winding-unit tending mechanism or the frame of the machine, because such relative movement facilitates the automatic association of tension-setting mechanism with the various winding units in succession, either by the tension-setting mechanism moving past stationary winding units, or, as in the preferred illustrated form of the invention, by the winding units moving past non-traveling tension-setting mechanism.

The invention is shown as applied to a traveling spindle winder, for conical or cylindrical yarn packages, comprising a large number of traveling winding units 11, for example one or two hundred, which are conveyed by a chain 12 around a closed path defined by upper and lower rails, the upper rail being shown at 13. Each unit includes an upright frame member 14 extending down from the head 15 of the unit and a front cover plate 16 extending down in front of the head.

The usual holders for the winding packages and the yarn traversing devices carried by the heads of the Winding units, the drive roll for the packages and traversing devices, as well as automatic end-finding, bobbin feeding and knot-tying mechanisms are omitted from the drawings, for simplicity.

It will be understood that in most instances the automatic setting of the tension devices, hereinafter explained, will take place at a place in the course of travel of the winding units in which Winding is suspended, so it may be assumed in the accompanying drawings that the illustrated winding units are at the moment at an inactive part of their path, for example immediately before reaching automatic end-finding mechanism near the end of one side of the machine, or after passing around a curved end of the machine and before starting to wind. again.

The thread, whose path during winding is indicated by the broken line T, runs upwardly from a supply bobbin to the winding package and between the opposed elements of a tension device herein shown as comprising rotatable disk elements 20 and 21. Disk 21 is pressed against disk 20 by a crank arm 24 having a ball shaped enlargement 25 which engages in a socket 26 in the outer side of the disk as shown in Fig. 2, crank arm 24 being pivoted in a bush ing 27 on the cover plate 16. Previously it has generally been the practice to provide each unit with a manually adjustable spring to urge the crank arm 24 to press disk 21 toward disk 20, to give the desired degree of tension.

The crank arm 24 is shown as having a shaft portion 24 Fig. 1, extending through the bushing 27 and an inner arm 24 movable therewith in rear of the cover plate 16. Instead of loading the crank arm 24 by means of an individually adjustable spring as just described, it has sometimes been the practice to mount a small weight, manually adjustable, upon the inner arm 24*.

In the preferred example of the invention the crank arm 24 is connected, inwardly of the cover plate, to the end of a torsion spring 50 of considerable axial length. The inner arm 24 might in some cases be dispensed with and the torsion spring 30 be connected at its ed to an axial extension of the shaft portion 24 with the effect of applying the springs torque in full to the shaft portion 24 However it is preferred, through suitable mechanical connections, to apply only a fraction of the springs torque to the shaft 24 Spring 3i) is loosely encased in a tube 31 of circular cross section, which though shown as having been bent is nevertheless sufiiciently rigid in use to maintain a constant shape. A sleeve 32 is secured to the rear of the plate 16 as by a screw 33 and the end of tube 31 is fastened to the sleeve 32 by a threaded nipple 34.

In addition to being secured to the plate 16, tube 31 may be secured by any suitable bracket 39 to the upright 14 of the winding unit.

The spring 34) carries, fast on its end, a rotatable connecting element 35, having a non-circular recess into which is received a correspondingly non-circular portion projecting from a rotatable shaft element 36. The torque of the spring 39 is thus transmitted to the rotatable shaft element 36.

A crank arm 37 fast on shaft element 36 extends out through a slot in sleeve 32, and as shown in Fig. 4, carries a yoke 38 which bears upon inner arm 24. The torque in spring 30 is in a direction tourge the arm 37 clockwise in Fig. 4 and accordingly urge the inner arm 24 clockwise in Fig. 4 and urge the movable disk 21 to ward the disk 20.

It will be seen that in the preferred form of the invention shown, the pivoted member comprised of the arm 24, shaft portion 24 and inner arm 24 receives torque at the point where it is engaged by the yoke 38, which point is substantially less distant from the axis of pivoting of this member than from the axis of spring 30, and that a given angular movement of arm 24 corresponds to a sub-' stantially lesser torsional movement of the spring 30. By way of example, the distance from yoke 38 to the axis of shaft portion 24 may be one-fifth the distance from yoke 38 to the axis of the spring 30. These connections between the spring and arm 24 constitute a preferred form of torque-reducing connections for transmitting a portion only of the torque of the spring to the arm 24, that is to say, gearing down a relatively high torque in the spring to a relatively low torque in the arm 24.

At its inner end as shown in Fig. 2 spring 30 is fast upon a reduced-diameter portion of a rotatable pin ed. A nonrotatable sleeve 41 fast upon the end portion of tube 31 surrounds a portion of pin 40 and forms a hearing within which the pin 40 turns.

Fast on the pin 40 is a rotatable member indicated generally at 44 which in the preferred form of the invention is adapted to form part of a means for latching the spring 30 in a state of torsion and also for receiving force which rotates the spring into such state of torsion, although in the broader aspects of the invention separate structure could be provided for these two functions.

The rotary member indicated generally at 44 preferably comprises two toothed wheels 44 and 44 fast upon the rotatable pin 40. An arm 47 fast upon the non-rotatable sleeve 41 carries two pawls 48 and 48 engageable with the teeth of the respective wheels 44 and 44 The teeth of the two wheels coincide, and the pawls 48 and 48* are displaced by a one-half tooth interval, so that one or the other of the pawls normally latches its wheel and consequently latches rotatable member 44 7 against rotating clockwise as viewed in Fig. 1. Thus the spring 30 when torsionally stressed is latched in such stressed condition.

For unlatching the springs of the several units, a cam 50, past which the units travel from right to left in Fig. l, is positioned to engage upstanding tails 51 of the pawls 48 and 48 lifting the pawls from their toothed wheels. The spring 30, its stress thus released, quickly assumes a relaxed condition.

.A toothed rack 54 is carried by an arm 55 pivoted at 56 on a support past which the units travel and the arm and rack are supported and urged yieldingly upwardly by a spring pressed plunger 57. A shield member 66 carried by the arm 55 and adjustable longitudinally of the rack 54 engages with a smooth sleeve 61 on the to tatable pin 40 of the traveling winding unit. Throughout this engagement the rack, as in Fig. l, is prevented from rising into contact with the toothed wheels 44 and 44 Preferably the smooth sleeve 61 is fast upon the pin 40 of the winding unit but has a low coefficient of friction with respect to the shield 60 so that the movement of this smooth sleeve 61 along the shield will very slightly rotate the rotatable member 44 and'apply a slight initial torsion to the spring 30. This initial slt fqfising ac- 4 tion, which is not essential, may be considered as taking up a slight amount of slack in the spring 30.

Then when sleeve 61 reaches the end of shield 60 the rack 54 rises into mesh with wheels 44 and 44 of rotatable member 44, and this member is thereupon positively rotated until it leaves the end 'ofrack 54, whereupon the pawl 43 or 48 holds the rotatable member as against clockwise rotation and against loss of the torsional stress of the spring.

The length of rolling engagement 7 of the rotatable member 4 and the rack 54, as thus regulated by the position of the adjustable shield 60, regulates the degree of torsional stress applied to the spring 39, and the con sequent loading of the tension device. The position of the shield 69, lengthwise of the arm and rack 54 thus gives a visual indication of the tension for which each tension device is set by the stress applying mechanism, and the mechanism may be calibrated in any suitable scale of values of tension. A clamping screw 63 may be employed to hold the shield in the selected position relative to the rack.

It will be apparent that by a single setting of the shield 69 all of the many winding units of the machine will successively have their tension devices set to the desired tension during the course of passage of the winding units around the machine.

It will be understood that as a spring comes near to relaxation it has progressively less ability to overcome any frictional resistance which may oppose its return to its original position. Thus there may be some unintended variation in the conditions of the springs 30 in their unlatched conditions. This however does notintroduce objectionable differences in the'settings of the corresponding tension devices, as will be seen from the ,fact that each spring is subjected to a substantially identical and relatively extensive winding-up action, suflicient so that any variations in position while relaxed become of negligible effect in the stressed condition in which the springs operate. The ability to wind up the springs so extensive ly as to minimize the effects of differences in their unlatched conditions is enhanced by the reduction in torque which occurs between the spring 30 and thearm 24 as explained above. I

The tension setting mechanismcan be allowed to operate continuously as the winding units continue to pass. However in order to set all of the tension devices of all of the winding units it is only necessary for the tension setting mechanism to cooperate once with each winding unit. Thus after each of the winding units has en countered the tension setting mechanism, this mechanism may be thrown out of action until it is desired again to alter the setting of the tension devices. To throw the tension setting mechanism out of action, the cam 50 is swung about a pivot 65 to an inoperative position shown in broken lines in Fig. 1 and the shield is shifted to its broken-line position of Fig. 1 wherein it prevents any engagement of the rack 54 with the rotatable elements 44.

I claim:

1. Winding machine including a plurality of yarn winding units each including an adjustably loaded tension device adapted toapply various degrees of tension to the winding yarn in accordance with the loading of the tension device, a tension-setting mechanism adapted to establish the degree of loading of a tension device, and means for causing relative traveling movement between the tensionsetting mechanism and the several tension devices such as to associate the tension-setting mechanism with the several tension devices in succession, the tension-setting mechanism being adjustable to establish various degrees of loading of each of the plurality of tension devices.

2. Winding machine including a plurality of yarnwinding units each including an adjustably loaded tension device adapted to apply various degrees of tension to the winding yarn in accordance with the loading of the tensiondevice, a tension-setting mechanism adapted to apply a load to a tension device, and means for causing relative traveling movement between the tension-setting mechanism and the several tension devices such as to associate thedensron-setting mechanism with the several tension devices in succession, the several tension devices includmg latch means for retaining the applied load, and the tension-setting mechanism being adjustable to apply various degrees of loading to each of the plurality of tension devices.

3. Winding machine including a plurality of yarn wind mg units each including a tension device for tensioning the winding yarn, each tension device comprising opposed elements and a spring urging one of said elements toward the other, the machine including a spring-stressmg device and means for associating the spring-stressing device with the springs of the several tension devices successively, the spring-stressing device being adjustable to apply various degrees of stress in accordance with its adjustment.

4. Winding machine including a plurality of yarn winding units each including a tension device for tensioning the winding yarn, each tension device comprising opposed elements and a normally-stressed spring urging one of said elements toward the other, the machine including a device for releasing the stress of said spring, a device for applying a stress to said spring and means for associating the two last-named devices with the springs or" the several tension devices successively.

5. Winding machine including a plurality of yarn winding units each including a tension device for tensioning the winding yarn, each tension device comprising opposed elements, a spring urging one of said elements toward the other and means for latching the spring in a stressed condition, the machine including means for unlatching the several latching means and a spring-stressing device acting upon the several springs in succession, the spring-stressing device being adjustable to apply various degrees of stress in accordance with its adjustment.

6. Winding machine including a plurality of yarn winding units each including a tension device for tensioning the winding yarn, each tension device comprising opposed elements, a torsion spring connected at one of its ends to one of said elements for urging the latter toward the said element, a rotatable member connected to the other end of said spring, and means for latching said rotatable member to hold the spring in torsional stress, and the machine including an unlatching device acting successively upon the several tension devices to release its latching means and a spring-stressing device acting successively upon the several rotatable members of the several winding units to apply torsion to the several springs.

7. Winding machine including a plurality of yarn winding units each including an adjustably loaded tension device adapted to apply various degrees of tension to the winding yarn in accordance with the loading of the tension device, a tension-setting mechanism adapted to establish the degree of loading of a tension device, and means for moving the winding units in a procession past the tension-setting mechanism with the several tension devices successively in operative engagement with the tension-setting mechanism, the tension-setting mechanism being adjustable to establish various degrees of loading of each of the plurality of tension devices.

8. Winding machine including a plurality of yarn winding units each including an adjustably loaded tension device adapted to apply various degrees of tension to the winding yarn in accordance with the loading of the tention device, a tension-setting mechanism adapted to apply a load to a tension device, and means for moving the winding units in a procession past the tension-setting mechanism with the several tension devices successively in operative engagement with the tension-setting mechanism, the several tension devices including latch means for retaining the applied load, and the tension-setting mechanism being adjustable to apply various degrees of loading to each of the plurality of tension devices.

9. Winding machine including a plurality of yarn winding units arranged to travel around the machine, the winding units including tension devices for tensioning the winding yarn, each tension device comprising opposed elements and a spring urging one of said elements toward the other, the machine including a spring-stressing device past which the winding units travel, the spring-stressing device being arranged to act upon the said springs of the .everal winding units in succession and being adjustable to apply various degrees of stress in accordance with its adjustment.

10. Winding machine including a plurality of yarn Winding units arranged to travel around the machine, the winding units including tension devices for tensioning the winding yarn, each tension device comprising opposed elements and a normally-stressed spring urging one of said elements toward the other, the machine including means for releasing the stresses of said springs, and a springstressing device past which the units are adapted to move after the stress has been released from their springs.

. 11. Winding machine including a plurality of yarn winding units arranged to travel around the machine, the winding units including tension devices for tensioning the Winding yarn, each tension device comprising opposed elements, a spring urging one of said elements toward the other and means for latching the spring in a stressed condition, the machine including means for unlatching the several latching means and a spring-stressing device past which the winding units travel and acting upon the several springs in succession, the spring-stressing device being adjustable to apply various degrees of stress in accordance with its adjustment.

l2. Winding machine including a plurality of yarn winding units arranged to travel around the machine, the winding units including tension devices for tensioning the winding yarn, each tension device comprising opposed elements, a torsion spring connected at one of itsends to one of said elements for urging the latter toward the other said element, a rotatable member connected to the other end of said spring, and means for latching said rotatable member to hold the spring in torsional stress, and the machine including a spring-stressing device past which the winding units travel and acting successively upon the several rotatable members of the several wind ing units to apply torsion to the. several springs, and an unlatching device past which the Winding units travel and acting successively upon the latching means of the several rotatable members preparatory to, action thereon of the spring-stressing device.

13. Winding machine including a yarn winding unit arranged to travel around the machine, the winding unit including a tension device for tensioning the winding yarn and means including a torsion spring for loading the tension device, a rotatable toothed element connected to the spring, a rack past which said rotatable toothed element travels and adapted, upon rolling engagement of the rotatable toothed element therewith, to apply torsional stress to the spring, adjustable means for regulating the length of rolling engagement of said rotatable toothed element and the rack, thereby to regulate the torsional stress ap plied, and latch means for holding the spring against loss of such torsional stress.

14. Winding machine including a yarn winding unit arranged to travel around the machine, the winding unit including a tension device for tensioning the winding yarn and means including a torsion spring for loading the tension device, a rotatable toothed element connected to the spring, a rack past which said rotatable toothed ele ment travels and adapted, upon rolling engagement of the rotatable toothed element therewith, to apply torsional stress to the spring, a shield adjustable longitudinally of the rack regulating the length of rolling engagement of said rotatable toothed element and the rack, thereby to regulate the torsional stress applied, and latch means for holding the spring against loss of such torsional stress.

15. Winding machine including a yarn winding unit arranged to travel around the machine, the winding unit including a tension device for tensioning the winding yarn and means including a torsion spring for loading the tension device, a rotatable toothed element connected to the spring, a rack past which said rotatable toothed element travels, said rack being yieldingly urged into the path of the teeth of said rotatable toothed element and adapted upon meshing with said teeth to rotate saii Ito-- tatable toothed element and apply torsional stress to the spring, a shield adjustable longitudinally of the rack for holding the rack and teeth out of engagement through a part of the length of the rack, thereby to regulate the torsional stress applied, and latch means for holding the spring against loss of such torsional stress.

16. In a winding machine, a traveling winding unit including a tension device and a torsion spring for loading the tension device, a toothed element connected to the spring, and means for latching said element to hold the spring under torsional stress, in combination with a tension-setting mechanism past which the unit travels, said tension-setting mechanism comprising means for releasing the latching means temporarily so as to allow the spring to relax and means for thereupon rotating the toothed element so as to apply torsion to the spring.

17; A yarn tension device including opposed elements between which the yarn is adapted to run, a pivoted mem' ber forming an arm for urging one of said elements toward the other, a rotatable member, a spring urging the rotatable member to rotate and means transmitting force from the rotatable member to the pivoted member at a .point which is closer to the axis of the pivoted member between which the yarn is adapted town, a pivoted member forming an arm for urging one of said 'elements toward the other, a rotatable member, and a spring urging the rotatable member to rotate, the rotatable member bearing on the pivoted member at a point which is closer to the axis of the pivoted member than to the axis of the rotatable member.

19. A yarn tension device including opposed elements between which the yarn is adapted to run, a pivoted member forming an arm for urging one of said elements toward the other, a rotatable member, a spring urging the rotatable member to rotate, the rotatable member applying a force to the pivoted member and the pivoted member furnishing an opposite sustaining force sustaining the rotatable member against rotation by the spring, the effective lever arm of the sustaining force, with relation to the axis of the rotatable member, being substantially greater than the effective lever arm of the force applied to the pivoted member, with relation to the axis or the pivoted member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,554,286 Wilson May 22, 1951 2,592,599 Perry Apr. 15, 1952 2,646,937 Johnson et al July 28, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 166,176 Switzerland Dec. 31, 1933 465,566 Great Britain May 10, 1937 

